Ajay Sood

Travel photographer and a travelogue writer

Ajay Sood (Travelure) is an accomplished travel photographer and a travelogue writer who has visited over 20 countries. He has been profiled as Mastercraftsman in Smart Photography (May 2012) and in Asian Photography (Feb 2012).

He has won many awards for his travel photography and writings - notable amongst those being #GrabYourDream (Season 2) Winner, #NGTGetOutThere Grand Winner and #LPInstafame Winner.
Also, he is a Canon Photo Mentor. Additionally, he was on the jury of Canon Photomarathon 2012 and Times Passion Trails 2014.
You could see more of his published stories at www.travelure.in.

When you think of Thailand as the tourism authorities sum it up, a myriad images usually crop up - from beaches and snorkelling to spas and massage, from Buddhist temples and ornate stupas to Khon, the traditional dance form. The slideshow begins. Yet, something else deserves a place on this list: traditional crafts. It is not that there is any paucity of beautiful handicrafts in this wondrous country - it's just the rest of the imagery has a stronger gestalt!

True that today it has become a tourist attraction and these elephants are supported by funds generated from these tourists, but the Sri Lankan government's gesture when they started the orphanage was laudable.

Though I love wildlife, I do not belong in the wild. Roughing it out is not my idea of fun so I have often eschewed India's national parks where you are more likely to be following a trail of tiger poop rather than actually watching a deer hunt in progress... Understandably, mention of a visit to Satpura National Park in Madhya Pradesh found me nodding only perfunctorily at the prospect.

The recently concluded 5-day Aero India 2015 in Bangalore (18-22 Feb 2015) was a visual delight for the visitors. The key reason for the show was defence-related business deals; but from visitors' point of view, the impressive fly pasts and the stunning aerobatics displays put up by various global teams was the high point. Here are glimpses of their awesomeness!

As if in a daze, I moved from one building to another. Wherever I went, some reminder of the Holocaust faced me, its scale and magnitude evident in the exhibits I was witnessing. Each building I visited had three floors. Each floor had a narrow aisle in the middle and the sides had glass-encased remembrances, variously exhibiting victims' hair, their suitcases, artificial limbs, spectacles, hairbrushes, toothbrushes, shoes, toys and other belongings.